Another Greece decision delayed – a new pattern here?

The Great Drama of Greece’s Bailout has lately turned into a lengthy novel and in the wee hours of Wednesday another chapter was added to the tale.

Reuters

Just as the euro-zone finance ministers had the chance to finally give the go ahead for disbursing the next tranche of bailout money to Greece, the group decided to call it a day after an almost 12-hour marathon meeting and push back negotiations until next week. A yet-to-be resolved disagreement between euro-zone governments and the International Monetary Fund over how to get Greece’s debt on a sustainable track again derailed the process.

In the saga, or tragedy if you prefer, of Greece-related events, the decision to postpone a final solution is far from unprecedented. In fact, the Eurogroup and other senior policy makers have met numerous times in recent months to unblock the way to grant Greece a fresh 31.5 billion euros in long-delayed aid.

With euro-zone officials supposedly discussing the bailout drama on a weekly basis, MarketWatch has assembled a timeline with recent, key events.

October 13: Greece’s Prime Minister Antomis Samaras says in an interview with Greek daily Kathimerini that an agreement on a 13.5 billion euro austerity package will be reached by the time EU leaders meet for a summit on October 18-19. The package is a prerequisite for the country’s troika of international lenders – the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund – to pay out the next aid installation.

October 18-19: EU leaders meet for a summit in Brussels. Greece has yet to agree on spending cuts and budget reforms in exchange for the next tranche of bailout money. Euro area leaders, however, welcome the determination of the Greek government to deliver on its commitments and express optimism that Greece and the troika will reach an agreement.

Oct. 31: Euro-zone finance ministers discuss progress made in Greece on a conference call. Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Junckers says after the discussion that there were signs of progress toward reaching an agreement, and that they “called on the Greek authorities to solve remaining issues so as to swiftly finalise the negotiations with the Troika institutions.” The group expects to conclude negotiations at its regular meeting on Nov. 12, required that Greece approves its austerity package

Nov. 11: Greece’s parliament approves the tough austerity budget amid mass public protests, with more than 10,000 people protesting outside the parliament in Athens.

Nov. 12: Euro-zone finance ministers gather for a regularly scheduled meeting with Greece’s bailout and future debt sustainability high on the agenda. The IMF and Eurogroup openly clash after the meeting, as Juncker gives the green light to grant Greece two extra years to reduce its debt load to 120% of GDP by 2022 instead of 2020, while IMF boss Christine Lagarde insists she’ll stick to the 2020 timeframe. The 2020 target was agreed as a condition for the IMF’s involvement in Greece’s bailout program, leaving the whole aid package at risk if the two sides fail to reach a deal. Juncker says the Eurogroup will discuss Greece’s financing needs at an extraordinary meeting on Nov. 20. and that he is confident a definite decision about the aid disbursement will be made that day, according to Bloomberg News.

Nov. 20: The Eurogroup meets again, but fails to agree on a deal to unblock Greece’s next bailout installation amid continued wrangling with the IMF. Juncker says the group of finance ministers has made progress in “identifying a consistent package of credible initiatives”, although he says talks will have to resume on Nov. 26. Finance ministers are optimistic that a deal is close, according to Reuters.

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